#@%$*& Frozen Pipes

Location:Trapped Between The Worlds Of Make Believe, And Large Giant Multi Colored Shimmering Jello Cubes

Posted 01 February 2013 - 02:25 PM

My house is a fairly large home, multiple bathrooms, and for the most part, the house was constructed very well ... all of the water for the sinks, bathrooms, and furnace/humidifier, etc goes through inside walls ... except for the water return line on one toilet ... sumbitch .... every time the outside temp drops below about 25*F ( which right now it is 9*F ), the damn thing freezes up and the only way to flush it is to pour water in the tank ... well, normally not too big of an issue, but i'll be having a super bowl party over here Sunday and that means there's gonna be chicks, and that means you never have enough bathrooms to go around with them anyway .... so if the weather doesn't warm up just a little, this is gonna be a pain in the ass !!! WAAAH

Location:Trapped Between The Worlds Of Make Believe, And Large Giant Multi Colored Shimmering Jello Cubes

Posted 02 February 2013 - 01:18 AM

Isolate it... and heat the pipe up to melt the water.

ya know, i've got a couple of space heaters i could aim at the wall, i'm just not exactly sure where the frozen pipe is. the toilet is on the second floor, and the pipe could be between the floors ... BUT, it beats doing nothing and it doesn't look like the weather is gonna break by when everybody is showin up

Location:Trapped Between The Worlds Of Make Believe, And Large Giant Multi Colored Shimmering Jello Cubes

Posted 02 February 2013 - 01:23 AM

Don't you mean 32*?

well, yes and no ... it does have to get below 32*F, but it doesn't freeze up until it hits around 25*F or lower and holds it for a couple of days. then it's a sure thing. If it gets to 32*F, the water still flows. There is a little insulation in the outside wall, and the siding itself is worth a little bit of an insulation factor.

ya know, i've got a couple of space heaters i could aim at the wall, i'm just not exactly sure where the frozen pipe is. the toilet is on the second floor, and the pipe could be between the floors ... BUT, it beats doing nothing and it doesn't look like the weather is gonna break by when everybody is showin up

Hmm, yeah I get were you coming from. Doubt you can fix it before the party. maybe better to just leave it as it is, and just say that bathroom is out of order. Until its warms enough that you can open the walls up and isolate the fucking thing for next winter.

1. If it's a low flow toilet then replace with normal flow. The pipe should be angled to allow draining however it's the solids that may not be clearing in one flush and freezing, thus damming up the water. A low flow toilet is useless with pipes and septics that easily freeze.

Low flow toilets are troublesome and require frequent flushing to clear lines. Especially in larger houses. No reason to use them if on well with good flow. My old business had one installed and then we starter to get freezing. Problem was fixed when we replaced it.

2. Get an electric wrap for the pipe.

3. Put a sign up to double flush.

4. If older house it may be using 90* junctions and not 45*.

If you're talking the cold water line you can leave the sink on a crack.